Detachable Welding Face Mask

ABSTRACT

A welder&#39;s protective helmet is provided with a detachable face mask with a handle which allows the welder to detach the same, as desired, and hold the face mask in front of his/her eyes during welding but to easily and quickly move the same to the side for direct viewing. The handle can be provided with a forwardly directed V-shaped trough for holding the extension of the welding torch so that welding proceeds while the user&#39;s eyes are protected since the user&#39;s hand is holding both the welding torch in the trough of the handle which is also holding the face mask.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION AND DISCLOSURE

The present invention relates to a selectively detachable face mask fora protective helmet to be worn while welding or, in another embodiment,a face shield useful for welding. Specifically, the present inventioncomprises a face covering component which is selectively securable toand detachable from a head covering helmet. The hand-held faceprotective component allows the user to quickly weld with the unit heldby hand, not as a component of a helmet on the head, in front of theface (for protection) and then allows the user to easily and quicklymove the protective component aside so that the user can see theprogress of the weld without the mask being flipped up for viewing whena helmet is used. Also, the detachable and securable to a helmet, facemask, hand held by the welder, is provided with a V-shaped, forwardlydirected groove or vertical trough which is adapted to hold the weldingtorch's supply line so that the welding operation is still simple eventhough the welder is using one hand to hold the mask (unlike theconventional welding mask which is on a helmet secured to the head andflips up, by hand, and down by either hand or a head-jerking motion).

Welding is a process of joining metals, often the same metal, sometimesdifferent metals. Welding is accomplished by heating the metal to a hightemperature so that the edges thereof sought to be joined become pliableand then holding them (sometimes under pressure) together duringcooling. Welding is often done by melting the work pieces and adding afiller material to form a pool of molten material (the weld pool) sothat when it cools a strong joint results. Often pressure is used inconjunction with heat to produce the weld. This is in contrast withsoldering and brazing which involve melting a lower-melting-pointmaterial between the work pieces to form a bond between them, withoutmelting the work pieces. Often a flux material is used to facilitate thejoining of the work pieces, the formation of a weld and the ultimatestrength of the new joint. The welding process, in essence, employs atorch, powered by a gas, which can produce a very high temperature flamefor heating the metallic work pieces and the material used for the weld,whether the same material, a flux material or a different material.After they become attached, after the temperature of the separate piecesare raised to the molten/pliable range, the pressure of one piece to theother and then the consequent cooling causes the edges to cool and asecure and strong joint is formed between the work pieces. To accomplishthe melting process of the metals and to raise the temperature of thematerials to the molten level, users employ blowtorches, laser beams, orother oxy-acetylene torches and welding tools which are adapted toprovide a source of high temperatures—those required for formation ofwelded joints in metals.

Because of the risk to the eyes, of burns and other injuries which couldoccur during use of those high temperature sources, the oxidation offlux, the arc of welding, etc., safety precautions are often taken toprotect the hands, clothes, and especially the face and eyes of thewelders. These protective devices include the use of heavy leathergloves, protective long sleeves to avoid direct exposure to the skin,and goggles or welding helmets to protect the head, face and eyes fromburns, bright light, and/or ultraviolet light and the spark of the arcof welding.

Welding helmets are commonplace and often used. These often comprise asee-through protective glass-like face plate which protects the eyesfrom UV rays and allows the welder to see the welding and the joint,during the process. Yet, to see the joint clearly, the welder oftenneeds to remove the protective face mask. The conventional face masksand helmets are integrated and the face mask hinged so that it coversthe face during welding but can be manually and quickly hand flippedupwardly for viewing the weld. Then, if additional welding is required,the face mask can be manually flipped back down, into the face and eyeprotecting position, or, more experienced welders can quickly jerk ornod their head to cause the face mask to flip from the up position tothe face protecting position. Each time the welder desires to clearlyand closely view the weld joint, however, the welder must manually flipthe face mask upwardly and each time the welder desires to continue toweld a joint, the face mask must be flipped downwardly, manually or bythe jerking of the head. This can be tedious and time consuming.

Conventional welding helmets incorporate a horizontally extending hingemechanism rotatively securing the face plate to the front opening of thehelmet. The bulk of the helmet is adapted to sit upon and around thehead of the user, in the nature of a motorcycle, hockey goalie orbobsled-like helmet. The hinge mechanism for the face plate allows thewelder/user to lift up the face plate portion of the helmet when heceases to use the blowtorch or other tool and when the risk of injuryhas temporary dissipated so that the joint can be inspected without theface mask blocking the line of sight.

Thus, it is believed highly desirable to provide a welding helmet forprotection of the top, sides and back of the welder's head and alsoincluding a mechanism for protecting the face and the eyes of thewelder. Yet, it is desirable for the welder to be able to quickly viewthe weld and then go back to welding, without manually flipping the faceplate, or doing the same by jerking the head. Elimination of the manualflipping up of the face plate each time a weld is sought to be viewedand then flipping the same down into position, can be tedious and, yet,the direct line of sight is important to inspect the weld as is theprotection of the eyes, when welding is being done. Thus, a face platecomponent which is entirely detachable and easily reattachable to thehelmet would seem to satisfy the welder's needs. It would allow thewelder to operate in the welding mode, with face covered and eyesprotected, allow the welder to inspect the weld, as desired, by flippingup (and then back down) after a weld operation is done, and, inaddition, it would allow the separation of the mask from the helmet sothat the welder can quickly and easily continue to weld, with eyesprotected by having the mask held by hand in front of the eyes and, yet,when the weld is needed to be inspected, the welder can easily move themask aside or more his head to the side, for direct viewing of the weld.

In addition, however, since the present invention contemplates that thewelder's hand (at least one) be used for holding the removable faceplate, the present invention contemplates that the handle for the samebe provided with a V-shaped vertical notch, trough or channel forlocating the extension of the welding torch therein so that the welder,while holding the face plate is also simply holding the extension of thewelding torch as the latter fits conveniently within the V-shapedchannel or trough of the handle. In this manner, the welder can quicklyform a weld, looking through the protective face plate, while holdingthe handle for the same with the welding torch held within the V-shapedgroove or channel therein, and, then, for inspection of the weld, theface plate is simply laterally moved away from the eyes and the welderhas a clear and direct line of sight to the weld, When further weldingis required, the welder can move the face mask and the welding torchback into position, protecting the face and eyes of the same. Thissimple back and forth of the movement of the detachable face mask i.e.,from in front of the eyes during welding to aside during inspection ofthe weld is far easier and quicker for a welder than the flip up anddown of the current integrated masks of welding helmets. Also, asmentioned, the V-shaped channel of the handle of the current inventionallows for one hand to be dedicated to the movement of the face plate asthe same hand is holding the handle and the welding torch rod-likeextension.

In an alternate embodiment of the invention, the handle for the mask isprovided with a bendable (yet strong) connection to the base of the facemask so that it can be easily adjusted into a precise orientation (andheld there by the secure yet bendable connection). This promotes comfortand ease of use.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PRIOR ART

To the Applicants' knowledge, no prior art welding helmets comprise afully detachable and yet easily securable protective eye and face platecomponent with a downwardly extending hand-holding handle. No prior artwelding helmet provides a simple removable face place with a handlewhich will, when attached to the helmet portion, fully protect theuser's face from the hazards associated with welding. Some prior artwelding helmets provide an upwardly and hingedly connected face platewhich allows the face plate to be moved out of the line of sight butrequires either a manual movement or a head jerk, a forceful nodding toplace the face plate in a protecting of the face and eyes position.Other prior art welding helmets do not offer any maneuverability of theface plate, thus requiring the welding helmet to be fully removed fromthe head to remove the obstruction of a mask or tinted viewing windowotherwise in the user's line of sight. This is not desirable because awelder generally wears thick rubber gloves which make it more difficultto accurately place a helmet on and clumsy to remove and because thenecessity of a welder to inspect the weld, during its formation, isimportant and requires, often, many and frequent steps of welding,inspection, welding, inspection, etc. Thus, total removal of the helmetis time consuming.

The present invention discloses a welding helmet comprising a head (topof head, sides and back of head) covering component and an easilysecurable and yet simply detachable face plate component. According tothe invention, the face plate is provided with a downwardly extendinghandle which allows the user to easily grasp and use the same, whetheras a protective mask during welding or to hold the same aside so thatthe welder can inspect the weld. Also, the handle is provided,preferably, with forward projecting, vertical trough for holding thewelding torch therein which trough makes the holding of the face mask asimple matter, since the welder needs to hold the welding torchextension anyway.

The present invention provides a new and improved welding helmet whichallows a user to protect his face during a welding process, but to fullyremove the face plate during certain finishing welding operations. Thisallows the user/welder to weld with the face plate held by itself inbetween the eyes and the arc and secured to the helmet, and, yet, whennearing completion, the face mask can be removed from the helmet andmanually held, allowing for the continuation of welding and the periodicinspection of the same. For inspection, the face plate can be laterallymoved aside. The downwardly extending handle allows the welder to simplyand quickly move the face plate into position for additional welding andout of face and eye-blocking position for a direct inspection. The faceplate is held by a downwardly extending projection or handle from thebase of the face mask. Preferably, the handle is provided with aV-shaped channel or groove, facing forwardly, which locates and holdsthe welding torch's extension piece, near the nozzle, so that a singlehand can be used for both holding the face mask during welding and fordirecting the tip of the nozzle towards the metal pieces for welding.

In between welding, when the user desires to see the joint being formedand the materials being welded, without the face plate obstructing hisline of sight, the face plate is simply moved aside (along with thetorch) or the welder's head moved to the side to have a direct line ofsight to the weld being formed.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention comprises a new welding helmet comprising a headcovering component and a detachable and easily reattachable face plate.The face place is provided with a handle and the handle has a forwardlyprojecting trough for holding the line extension of the torch therein(the line is generally a hose so the circular cross section of the hosefits nicely within the semi-circular trough of the handle). The handleallows the easy holding of the face mask between the welder's eyes andthe weld being formed. It also allows the face mask to move by hand to aposition so that the welder/user can have a direct line of sight to theformed weld. Alternatively, the present invention comprises only theface mask, with a downwardly projecting handle having a trough forholding the line extension of the welding torch.

The head covering component preferably comprises a conventional set ofadjustable head covering and engaging pieces and/or a set of straps tohold the same comfortably in place on and around the top of the head ofa wearer during use. The face plate is securable to the otherwiseforwardly open, head-covering component by means of a securementmechanism, preferably a set of snaps, a set of hooks and loops (Velcro®)or other known mechanical securement means, which allows the face plateto be quickly and easily removed from the front opening and reinstalled,as desired. Preferably, the holding and mask removal mechanism willstill allow the helmet and face mask to operate quite conventionally,i.e., face mask down during welding, flippable up when inspection of theweld is desired, and then flipped down for additional welding, whetherby a jerking of the head down or by manual placement of the face plateor mask into position. Yet, the ability of the face mask to be separatedand held in a hand provides great versatility to the welder for furtherwelding, allowing the welder to make additional welds and, yet, in aninstant allowing the welder to quickly and easily move it aside (orone's head, respectively) for a direct line of sight view of the weld.

The present invention contemplates that the face plate may be removedduring welding and allows the welder to quickly weld and inspect bymoving the face plate, held in the hand, from in front of the eyes toaside the face and head. This allows welding and viewing quickly andeasily. For more lengthy welding times, the face plate can be secured tothe front of the helmet and a hinge can be provided for conventionallyflipping the face plate from a down position for welding to an upposition for inspection. Further welding can be done by flipping theface mask down to protect the face by jerking or snapping the face maskinto position, causing the same to rotate about its hinged, or a simplemanual movement of the face mask back down to cover the front of themask.

The improvement, here, however, is providing a detachable face plate,held by a handle in the welder's hand (or a stand into which the faceplate can be secured) which allows the welder's eye's and face to beprotected during welding by placing it between the arc of the torch andthe wearer's face and eyes and, yet, allows the welder's eyes and faceto be quickly and simply moved laterally or the face plate movedlaterally, relative to the welder, for inspection of the weld. And, ifthe face mask is separated from the rest of the helmet, the handle forthe mask serves the dual function of holding, in a convenient manner,the extension pipe of the welding tool.

According to the present invention, the face mask is provided with adownwardly extending handle to facilitate the rapid movement of the faceprotector from in front of the face to the side. And, that handle isprovided with a V-shaped groove or vertical, forwardly projected channelor trough to facilitate the holding of the face plate and the weldingtorch, in the same hand. According to another aspect of the presentinvention, the handle is secured to the base of the face mask by aflexible holder which is strong enough to hold the mask in position whenthe handle is held and, yet, allows the user to adjust the angle of theface mask to the handle, with the connection holding that angle untilmoved to a new or different angle.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a front and side perspective view of a prior art weldinghelmet with hinged eye protective portion;

FIG. 2 is a front elevational view of the present invention, an over thehead welding helmet with detachable face plate, showing the face plateattached to the helmet and with the face plate held in position by awelder's hand holding a downwardly extending handle;

FIG. 3 is a front and side perspective view of the present invention asshown in FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a front elevational view of the face plate component of thepresent invention after it has been removed from the front of thewelding helmet;

FIG. 5 is a front perspective view of the face plate component shown inFIG. 4, and showing the welder's hand on the handle of the face platecomponent for holding and removing of the same from the helmet andshowing a tube or pipe representative of the line extension for thetorch held in the vertical groove or trough of the handle in the hand ofthe welder;

FIG. 6 is a rear elevational view of the present invention of thehelmet; and

FIG. 7 is a side and front perspective view of the present inventionsimilar to that shown in FIG. 3;

FIG. 8 is another front perspective view of the present invention,similar to that shown in FIGS. 3 and 4;

FIG. 9 is a front, top and perspective view of another embodiment of thepresent invention, the face mask component and handle, with theconnection between the bottom of the shield of the face mask to thehandle/extension holding trough, being a flexible connection; and

FIG. 10 is an enlarged perspective view of the present invention, shownin FIG. 9, and shows the flexible connection between the handle and thebottom of the face mask.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS AND THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

Description will now be given of the invention with reference to theattached FIGS. 1-10. It should be understood that these Figures areexemplary in nature and in no way serve to limit the scope of theinvention.

As can be seen in FIG. 1, commonly known prior art welding helmetsgenerally comprise a face covering component 20 which is permanently yethingedly secured to helmet 24. These prior art helmets allow for theface covering component 20 to be selectively moved up and away, througha horizontal hinge, from the face of a user by means of side knob 22connected to the face covering component 20. As the knob 22 turns, theface mask rotates about the hinge, not shown, up and above the top ofthe helmet or down, so that the protective screen 23 is in front of thewearer's eyes. As can be seen, the protective screen 23 is part of thefront face plate of the prior art helmet and that face plate is anintegral component of the helmet. When the face plate is aligned withthe wearer's eyes and between the high light intensity of a weldingtorch and the eyes of the welder, the face plate protects the same fromthe bright light of the arc and, yet, allows for the welder to basicallysee the welding location. The protective screen 23 is preferably made ofa somewhat translucent material, likely thick blue tinted glass, toallow the welder to see and to see the arc of the welding operation and,yet, the brightness of the arc of the weld is subdued by the screen.When the welding is finished or the weld needs to be inspected, thewelder will turn off or stow the welding torch on a stand or easel andflip the protective screen 23 upwardly, either by manually turning theknob 22, or lifting up the bottom edge of the hinged protective screen.After inspection, if further welding is required, the user can re-locatethe protective screen by quickly jerking or nodding the head forwardly,so that the protective screen 23 is in front of the eyes of the welder.

However, in the prior art device, the protective screen 23 cannot beremoved from helmet 24. Thus, the only way of removing it for directviewing of the weld is to either remove the helmet entirely or byrotating the knob 22. Then, when further welding is required, rotatingthe knob 22 to place the protective screen in front of the eyes isrequired or the welder may quickly nod his/her head downwardly andforwardly to cause the protective screen 23 to be placed in front of thehelmet, covering the eyes.

The present invention avoids this and provides a far simpler andefficient manner of quickly transferring from welding (with eyeprotection) to direct weld viewing (without anything between the eyesand the weld) and back. The prior art device is inconvenient anddifficult for quick switching between welding and inspecting/viewing.

Thus, the present invention discloses a new welding helmet 30 comprisinga top, back and both sides of the head covering component 32 and aremovable yet securable face plate 40. Alternatively, only the faceplate 40 may be provided as a separate device when the “heavy” weldinghas been completed but there still remains some welding to be performed.As can be seen in FIGS. 2 and 3, face plate 40 is configured to betightly (by an O-ring, for example) securable to and yet easilyremovable from the front opening of the head covering component 32. Whena long time welding operation is contemplated or for storage of the facemask and the head covering component as a single helmet, the user cansecure and maintain the face plate 40 to the front of the helmet. Theface plate 40 has, however, a see-through glass-like screen which allowsthe welder's eyes to see through the same and to accomplish the weldwithout damaging the eyes (the filter of the glass protects the UV lightrays from damaging the user's eyes). According to one aspect of theinvention, the securement of the face plate to the front opening of thehelmet can be by a single snap-on mechanism, balls and detents, or, forexample, the top edge of the face plate can have a rounded horizontalrod which is captured and held by a concave and correspondingly shapedhorizontally extending receptacle on the helmet. This receptacle allowsthe rod to snap fit into it and be held thereby and, yet, when desiredto be removed, the rod of the face mask can be slipped out of theconcave receptacle of the helmet. So, the helmet with hinged yetsecurely held protective face plate and screen operates much like thatof the prior art welder's helmet. The user can flip the protective plateup, rotating the plate about the axis passing through the rod held inthe receptacle, to hold and rotate the face plate out of the way fordirect viewing. And, when further welding is desired, the user canrotate the protective face plate back into position, with the screenreplaced back in front of the welder's eyes. This can be done byphysical rotation of the face plate or, as mentioned, by a snappingforwardly of the head to cause the screen to rotatively hinge intoposition.

Alternatively to the holding and rotating mechanism of a rod and concavereceptacle, the device could be provided with a set of ball detentsattached to the sides of the helmet, spring biased outwardly, and a setof apertures on the removable face plate. The face plate can slide backand over the ball detents, pushing them inwardly towards one another,until they pop back, outwardly, by the spring bias, located in theapertures. The mechanical interaction of the ball detents on the helmetand apertures on the removable face plate (or vice versa) will hold theface plate to the helmet and allow for relative rotation of the faceplate about a horizontal hinge. The ball detents and apertures (oranother suitable hinging and rotating mechanism) will also allow theface plate to rotate up and out of the way for direct viewing and backinto location for welding and eye protection. Face plate 40 comprises aviewing window 42 through which a user can see the arc of the weld and,yet, not suffer damage to the eyes. When the face plate 40 is connectedto head covering component 32, the device operates as a conventionalhelmet whereupon the protective covering flips up and down to protectthe eyes during welding and to allow the direct sight of the weld afterthe face plate and protective screen is removed from being between theeyes and the weld.

However, according to the present invention, the face plate can beremoved from the head covering portion. Then, the helmet or headcovering component still protects the top, back, and sides of the headof the welder but the eyes and face are protected by the now-separatedface plate portion which will be held by a hand (or a separate stand,like an easel or microphone holder). In this manner, the welder can usethe arc welder and the welder's eyes and face are protected and, yet,when the welding is complete, the user merely shifts his or her head tothe side of the protective face plate (or the face plate is moved off ofand aside the face) for direct viewing. No longer is the user requiredto flip up, manually or by nodding one's head rapidly, to change thehelmet from direct viewing to welding position or vice versa. Rather,the removability of the face plate and protective screen from the otheraspects of the helmet promotes a far more comfortable protective helmetand eye-protecting device.

The protective face plate is provided with a downwardly extending handle44. Preferably, the handle can have one or more, laterally extendingfinger grooves on its back to facilitate the ease of holding the same bythe hand/fingers of the welder. This allows the welder to quite easilyhold the face plate in front of his eyes and to also remove the samefrom the eyes so that a direct line of sight to the weld can beestablished. The handle preferably is provided with a forwardly directedconcave surface, a so-called “half pipe.” This downwardly extending yetforwardly opening of concavity allows the welder apparatus, specificallythe extension rod of the torch apparatus at the point before the samenecks down to the nozzle, to be received therein and held securely.Stated differently, the cylindrical pipe of the torch is held within thehalf-pipe of the handle so that the user's single hand can hold the faceplate and the welding pipe. In this manner, the same hand holding theface plate such that the user's eyes are protected is also holding thearc welding device, with the cylindrical length of a portion of the arcwelder within the half pipe section of the face plate. The face plate ismoved into eye protective position and out, for welding by the welderand when removed from the line of sight, the face plate and the weldingpipe are relatively laterally moved so that the welder has a direct viewof the weld.

Viewing window 42 is preferably tinted or provided with a protectivecoating to shield the user's eyes from any UV or other harmful rays ordirect contact with the sparks of the welding process which can occur asa byproduct of high temperature welding. Because of the tint of theviewing window 42 which is configured to protect the eyes of a user butalso may partially obstruct the user's vision when small pieces of metalare being welded or make sight slightly more difficult, it is highlydesirable to be able to remove the face plate 40 for direct viewing ofthe weld.

Face plate 40 preferably comprises a handle 44 which is connected to thebottom edge and center of face plate 40 for ease of removal andreattachment of the face plate 40 to head covering component 32. Byproviding a detachable face plate 40 with a handle 44, a user can easilyremove the face plate, maneuver it or place it down while easily beingable to reattach the same when desired. The handle allows the welder tomove the face plate relatively laterally (or the welder's head moved tothe side) for viewing the weld directly and the simplicity of the deviceallows the welder to move his/her head back behind the protectiveviewing window for further welding, as desired. Handle 44 is alsocomfortable for a welder wearing thick rubber gloves during a weldingprocess as it provides an easily graspable rear surface for the user,while maintaining the gloves on his hands, to hold the face plate 40 andeven easily allows removal of the face plate from the helmet 30 whendesired. As mentioned, the front of the handle is a hollow half pipewhich easily accepts and holds the extension rod of the weldingapparatus. It can be placed and held therein with the hand of the userholding the handle and the face mask and, in addition, the same handholding the extension rod within the concavity of the handle. This isquite convenient. The user's hand will wrap around the rear of thehandle and over the front of the handle, holding the extension pipewithin the half pipe of the handle so that the handle and the extensionpipe move as “one.” This allows the welder to easily weld.

As can be seen in FIGS. 4 and 5, the face plate 40 of the presentinvention may be fully detachable from the head covering component 32 orit may be a separate device. A user can remove the face plate 40 byholding the handle 44 and pulling on the handle 44 so that the faceplate 40 snaps off of, and dislodges from, the head covering component32. Or the face plate, protective screen and handle are a separate anddistinct tool for use by a welder. Relatedly, when a user wishes toreattach the face plate 40 to the head covering component 32, he canhold handle 44 and push face plate 40 back onto the head coveringcomponent 32 until it snaps into place. A variety of simple mechanicalmechanisms can be used for securing and removing the face plate from thehead covering component, all while allowing for selective rotation ofthe face plate with respect to the face of the user, in a conventionalmanner.

The face plate 40 and helmet are provided with any suitable mechanicalsecurement means, whether a snap and snap receiver set of components, apiece of fabric surrounding the face opening with button holes to besecured to a corresponding piece of fabric on the face plate withbuttons, hooks and eyelets, or other known means to selectively hold theface plate (and allow removal) of the face plate from the front of thehelmet.

FIG. 6 is a rear elevational view of welding helmet 30 and specificallyof head covering component 32. Head covering component 32 comprises adiameter-adjustable head strap 50 which is configured to pass around andbehind the forehead of a user and hold the welding helmet 30 in place onthe user's head while in use, similar to a bicycle helmet, motorcyclehelmet, ski helmet, fireman's hat, even a baseball helmet.

FIG. 7 is a front, top and side perspective view of the face mask andprotective screen, with handle, of the present invention when integratedinto a helmet 30. As can be seen therein, handle 44 is attached tocentral, bottom edge of face plate 40 and configured with a forwardlyextending half-cylinder or trough. This allows the welding rod to beplaced and held therein when the user holds the handle 44 and wrapshis/her fingers therearound. Also, the rear and smooth cylindricalsurface of the handle 44 allows for the comfortable holding of thehandle when the face plate 40 is held.

In the preferred embodiment, the face mask or face plate is capable ofbeing integrated into an overall protective helmet for welding.Selectively, however, the face plate can be rotated up and down duringthe welding operation. Also, however, according to the presentinvention, the face mask can be removed from the rest of the helmet andused as a separate tool, to allow the user to easily go from welding toinspection. The user will hold the handle during the operations ofwelding or inspection, or the face mask can be held in an easel or othersupport device.

FIG. 8 shows the font of the device with the face mask having thedownwardly extending handle. The handle is preferably provided with aforwardly projecting trough or half pipe for allowing holding of boththe face mask and the welding torch by a single hand. This face mask canbe a separate tool for use in welding or the device can be a componentof an overall welder's helmet where the face mask and the balance of thehelmet are capable of being integrated or separated, as desired.

According to another embodiment of the invention, shown in FIGS. 9 and10, the face mask or protective portion 40 of the device is secured tothe handle 44 via a flexible connector 50. Flexible connector 50 is afirm and strong connection which allows for bending of the same toadjust the angle and orientation of the face mask with respect to thehandle and that angle and orientation will “hold” until displaced to anew angle/orientation. The use of the bendable and strong-holdingconnector 50 is believed to provide a measure of comfort to the user sothat the face mask can be conveniently and comfortably held in positionby the hand on the handle 44 and yet the face mask can be removed, asdesired for a direct line of sight to the weld, as desired.

It will be understood by those of ordinary skill in the art that variouschanges may be made and equivalents may be substituted for elementswithout departing from the scope of the invention. In addition, manymodifications may be made to adapt a particular feature or material tothe teachings of the invention without departing from the scope thereof.Therefore, it is intended that the invention not be limited to theparticular embodiments disclosed, but that the invention will includeall embodiments falling within the scope of the claims.

What is claimed:
 1. A protective welding helmet comprising: a) anover-the-head component substantially protecting the top and sides ofthe welder; b) a face plate component having an eye-protective section,said face plate component being detachable and reattachable to saidover-the-head component, c) said face plate having a handle, such thatwhen detached, said face plate, when held by said handle, is separatefrom said over-the-head component and allows the welder to alternativelylook through said eye-protective section and continue to perform a weldand hold said face plate aside of the welder's eyes to allow a directline of sight to said weld.
 2. A protective welding helmet as claimed inclaim 1 wherein said handle further comprises a holding trough for aline extension of a welding torch.
 3. A protective welding helmet asclaimed in claim 2 wherein said holding trough extends forwardly and isV-shaped.
 4. A protective welding helmet as claimed in claim 1 whereinsaid handle is flexibly secured to said face plate.
 5. A protectivewelding helmet as claimed in claim 1 wherein said handle is formed tohold a line extension of a welding torch.
 6. A protective welding helmetas claimed in claim 1 wherein said handle is angularly adjustable withrespect to said face plate.
 7. A protective face covering plate for usein welding comprising an eye protective section separating andprotecting the user's eyes from a weld in progress and a handle securedto said face covering plate.
 8. A protective face covering plate for usein welding as claimed in claim 7 wherein said handle comprises a troughfor holding a line extension of a welding torch.
 9. A protective facecovering plate for use in welding as claimed in claim 7 wherein saidhandle is secured to a central bottom edge of said face plate.
 10. Aprotective face covering plate for use in welding as claimed in claim 8wherein said trough extends forwardly from said handle.
 11. A protectiveface covering plate for use in welding as claimed in claim 7 whereinsaid handle is flexibly adjustable in angle with respect to said eyeprotective section.
 12. A protective face covering plate for use inwelding as claimed in claim 7 further comprising a mechanical couplingfor securing yet allowing easy removal of said protective face platefrom a welder's over-the-head helmet.
 13. A protective face coveringplate for use in welding as claimed in claim 12 wherein said mechanicalcoupling comprises a horizontal hinge element such that said face platecan be flipped up and down as desired, when a welder desires a directline of sight to said weld and for further welding, respectively.
 14. Aprotective face covering plate for use in welding as claimed in claim 7wherein the width of said eye protective section extends across the faceof a user.